That Road Trip
by FinnickOdair-Will-Live-Forever
Summary: Three years ago our favorite main characters spent a year travelling the states in an RV and learning how to truly live. Now an unfortunate event threatens to bring them closer again, but how will they handle it after years of going against everything they were taught about living in the moment? All we know for sure is that they will never forget That Road Trip. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**The inspiration for this was kind of a mix between 'Grown Ups' and 'Ride' by Lana Del Rey. I'm sorry if I don't update regularly for a while, I've been really bad with it lately but I'm hoping this will get me back into the swing of things. :) The time period is current, our main characters are all nineteen going on twenty and it's 2014. I don't own The Hunger Games.**

It was a nice day. It was the kind of sunny day where mothers hit up the beach with their three toddlers and middle schoolers played soccer in the park. Cheerleaders lounged round the pool on days like this or had picnics in the park after an intense day of shopping, and the senior guys would play shirts and skins basketball in somebody's front yard.

Finnick knew that Haymitch would have hated it.

Of course, the problem was that Haymitch wasn't around to hate sunny, happy days anymore. He had passed away last week at the age of forty four, after a drunken night out with Finnick led to bloodied windshields, sirens, and screaming pedestrians. The fact that Haymitch, a cold and sour guy until the end, had his funeral on a warm pre-summer day that he would have loathed was not Finnick's main concern. Not by a long shot. No, his main concern was that apart from his girlfriend Annie none of the people that Haymitch mentored, Finnick's old _best friends_, had bothered to show up. Did they even know the poor guy was gone? He had taught them how to truly live, and now none of them cared that he was dead.

"Are you okay Finn?" Annie rested a clammy hand on his elbow. Her eyes were red, and her usually pale face was ghostly.

"Sure." He shrugged, and her hand slipped off of his arm.

"I understand, Finnick. You know I do. He was our reason for being for such a long time." Annie sympathized with him. "I may not have been as close to him anymore as you were, but he meant a lot to me. To _all _of us."

"See, you say that." Finnick shot her an icy glare. "But how many of them are actually here? Look around you Annie- none of them remember."

Annie looked up at him with softness in her sea green eyes.

"How could they possibly forget?"

_Summer of 2011:_

"_Woo!" A slightly tipsy Clove Rainer stood up in the RV, popping out of the sunroof to her waist._

"_Clove!" Katniss Everdeen laughed, lounging on a beanbag. "You'll get bugs in your teeth."_

"_Don't knock it till you've tried it, Kat-bug!" She yelled back, throwing her arms in the air. Cato sharply tugged her leg, bringing her tumbling down to the RV floor._

"_I'm not gonna want to kiss you if you flies in your molars." He smirked._

"_Aw, Maxwell, you're no fun." Clove affectionately called him by his last name as she jabbed in the ribs._

"_I didn't pull you out of school for a year so that you could be RV bums for the rest of your life." Haymitch stepped into the main lounge area, popping open a beer can as he did so._

"_So what is the point of this, grand master Abernathy?" Finnick smirked as he threw himself onto a couch with his own beer._

"_And, uh, who's driving?" Annie asked nervously._

"_Johanna. Don't worry kid, she'll be seventeen in two months. Then she can legally drive."_

_It was mid-October, and the Indian summer had finally set in. For a month they had been touring the states in Haymitch's brand new, Hippie-themed, RV._

"_Are you finally going to tell us the point of this whole thing?" Gale Hawthorne asked. "Or have the ten of us just dropped a year of high school?"_

"_The aim of this time out…" Haymitch grinned, his eyes lighting up. "Is to stop living, and start being alive."_

"I thought at least Johanna would come." Finnick shrugged, pushing a papery sausage roll around his plastic plate. The wake was awful- the beer tasted like shit and the food was awful. Whoever planned it clearly didn't like Haymitch very much.

"You know she's busy, but if I'm being honest…I thought she'd come too." Annie said, reaching across the table to grip Finnick's hand.

"I just don't understand how out of then ten of us who went through a life changing experience together because of Haymitch, we're the only two who care enough to show up at his funeral."

"People have…Moved on." Annie sighed.

"Not true." Finnick immediately blurted. "You _know _that's not true. None of us will ever be able to move on from that year. We learnt how to _live_. Are you trying to tell me that they've forgotten everything he taught us about what's truly important in life?"

"It was the best year of our lives, but people are busy now. Peeta's started a bakery in California, Katniss went with him, Johanna plays soccer in Washington, Clove's at Harvard, Glimmer's modelling, Marvel's-"

"That's not the point Annie. Haymitch changed us. We shared a bond, and I'm not going to let the years we've had apart ruin that."

"How?"

"I don't know." Finnick sighed, resting his head in his hands.

"Excuse me?" Somebody tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around warily.

"Effie." Finnick stood up to hug her.

"Oh, Finnick." She sobbed gently into his shirt. They may have had the most on and off relationship Finnick had ever seen, but that didn't change how much Effie had cared about Haymitch for five years. They were polar opposites, and that had been perfect for them.

"I have a favour to ask of you." Effie addressed both Annie and Finnick when she pulled back from his embrace. "Over in my car I have Haymitch's…Ashes."

"Oh my God." Annie inhaled sharply, like the death was only just hitting her.

"I…I know where he'd like them spread." Effie's voice broke over the words more than once.

"Where?" Finnick asked.

"Everywhere." Effie sobbed. She took a minute to dap at her eyes and compose herself before continuing. "He loved you kids- all of you. The road trips he took with you made him the man he was and his teachings were so very incredible. I think it would be the perfect send off if you would all reunite for one last road trip and scatter his ashes in every state that you visited…If it's not too much trouble.

"Oh Effie, we'd love to do it for him but-"

"We'll do it." Finnick cut Annie off before she could finish her sentence. After returning from their junior year away, the group had been close as seniors. Less than half a year later that all changed, with Clove cramming in evening classes and study sessions to catch up with tests and the workload, Annie devoting herself to swimming, Katniss focusing on making sure her Freshman sister Prim was doing okay and Marvel travelling the state for the debate team. When senior year ended, they stopped talking except for the occasional phone call once a month. But Finnick knew that this would be perfect for them, and for Haymitch.

"You will? Oh my!" Effie wrapped the teenagers in her arms. "This would mean so much to him."

"I know, Effie." Finnick responded with a grin on his face. "Trust me, I know."


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own The Hunger Games.**

_November 2011:_

"_Gather round. I've got a story to tell you."_

_It was the first time they'd actually stopped for a night since they began their road trip, and the sixteen year olds eagerly gathered around Haymitch's camp fire to hear his tale._

"_Firstly, ask yourself one question. Why did I chose you ten to come with me on this trip?" _

"_Because we're all friends?" Peeta suggested._

"_Because we're the most fun?" Glimmer laughed, fist-bumping Gale._

"_Because out of all the kids in that high school, you are the most superficial group I've ever met." Haymitch corrected them, raising an eyebrow._

"_Superficial?" Johanna chuckled. "No way."_

"_You don't even see it in yourselves. Raise your hand if you care about grades." Haymitch said, and the whole group kept their hands up._

"_Keep your hands raised if you'd lose friends to get perfect grades." He instructed, and nobody dropped their hands._

"_Raise your hand if you enjoy parties." He said. "Now drop them if you'd miss a party to hang out with your family."_

_Again, no hands dropped._

"_See what I mean? That's not what life is. Years at the top of the pecking order has left you like this. You shouldn't be worrying more about appearances than being a saving grace for someone, or about being at the hottest party of the year when your younger sibling's at home struggling with an issue. Don't drop friends for grades or sports- encourage them to greatness. Live a full life and maximise who you care about for as long as you can."_

"_Can we hear the story now?" Finnick asked glumly._

"_When I was your age, my father was very sick. I loved him, but not as much as I loved the idea of becoming the next big thing at Panem High. I lost almost all of my friends because I studied too hard to be clever. I got wasted at parties and lost my girlfriend when I cheated on her. I tried too hard to be a track superstar and blew my knee at the age of eighteen. And then one day, when I was out at a fraternity party with some older friends, my dad passed away." Haymitch said, his eyes glinting gold in the firelight._

"_Oh no." Annie sniffled, burying her head in Finnick's arm._

"_From then on, I realized the true things I should be valuing in life, and now I'm going to teach them to you guys."_

"_What are they?" Cato asked, leaning forward to catch Haymitch's answer more clearly._

"_Friends, family, love, freedom, and having no regrets. Once you have mastered all these, you will truly be alive."_

"I'm not sure I understand what you're planning on doing." Annie said as Finnick clicked away on his laptop.

"Well I called everyone, and Cato, Katniss, Gale and Marvel are down for it. The others said no." Finnick explained, typing something.

"So we just need to convince Glimmer, Johanna, Clove and Peeta?" Annie asked, sitting opposite him at their kitchen table.

"Uh-huh." Finnick nodded, his eyes glued to his laptop screen.

"So how are we going to do that? And what are you even doing right now?"

"I'm booking a flight to Massachusetts." He shrugged in response.

"Massachusetts?! No way, Finnick! You are _not _going to try and convince Clove to come, you know how stubborn she is." Annie said, her mouth hanging open in shock.

"She didn't pick up the phone when I tried to call her. The least I can do is tell her that Haymitch is dead." Finnick explained. "Anyway, it's booked now. I have to be at the JFK airport in six hours."

"_Finnick_." Annie groaned.

"Come on." Finnick stood up and grabbed his keys from the table. "We have to be at the Crosby street hotel in thirty minutes if we want to catch Glimmer before her shoot."

…

When they reached the Crosby, it was clear to Finnick that Glimmer hadn't quite forgotten Haymitch's teachings. Assistants ran around all over the place fetching Italian coffee for the models and British meat for their pets. Glimmer, however, ran around with them to help them out.

"I see there's still some Haymitch in you." Finnick called to her. Glimmer whipped around- her make-up was dark and smoky and, paired with the messy hair and torn black dress she wore, made her look like a demon.

"Finnick! Annie!" She gasped, embracing the two in a hug.

"Glimmer, looking gorgeous as ever." Finnick greeted her, giving her a friendly peck on the cheek.

"Now, now Finnick. Let's not make Annie jealous." Glimmer laughed.

"Wouldn't dream of it." He chuckled as the three of them pulled away.

"So…I know why you're here." Glimmer said, hitting them with a sudden air of seriousness. "I can't go, Finnick. You know I can't."

"I'm not sure that I do know that, Glim. Think about everything Haymitch did for us. Would you be who you are now if it wasn't for him?" Finnick asked, stating at her intensely.

"I'm doing this _for _him! He told me to always follow my heart and my dreams. I'm so close to making it big, and I can't leave it all now. He wouldn't want me to." Glimmer explained, folding her arms uncomfortably across her chest.

"Glimmer." It was Annie who stepped forward this time. "I wasn't all that hot on the idea either. But we _have _to do this. For Haymitch. For _his _dreams."

Glimmer sighed heavily and bit her lip.

"I'm in."

…

"_No_."

"Come on Clove, do it for Haymitch."

"No!"

"Why not?"

"You probably hadn't noticed, but I'm kind of busy." Clove gestured with her pen to the stacks of paper on her desk. "Harvard's kicking my ass and I refuse to get behind again and mess up my future."

"Clove…" Finnick trailed off, looking at her sadly.

"Don't look at me like that, Finnick. You have no right to judge me when you don't know how hard I've worked to get here." Clove snapped at him without looking up from the papers she was signing.

"And this is the most important thing to you?"

"Yes!"

"So…You'd lose friends to get perfect grades?" Finnick asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"That's not fair." Clove looked down at the floor, her pen slowing down.

"Maybe we don't want you there anyway." Finnick sighed, turning to leave.

"Good, because I don't want to go." Clove turned back to her paperwork.

Finnick whirled back around and glared at Clove.

"Has this got anything to do with Cato?"

"No way. I can handle him, you know I can." Clove snorted.

"It was a bad break-up, and if he's the reason-"

"_He's not_!" Clove yelled. "I'm just too busy. I'm sorry, Finnick, I really am. I can't afford to leave."

"I'm going to take a few guesses here, Clove. You fell in love on that trip. Right?" He asked, and Clove stayed silent. "It was incredible and you miss it so much. It was the best time of your life and you dream of it every night because you just can't get over the freedom of the road. You remember everything Haymitch taught us but now you're afraid to put it into action because this is the real world- but that doesn't change the fact that you're going to miss Haymitch a lot. Right?"

Clove stayed silent still, and Finnick sighed deeply. He turned to leave once more and Clove let his hand hit the door handle before she called him back.

"Finnick."

"Yeah?"

"I'll do it. It could be...enlightening. Besides, if you want to convince Johanna, you're going to need me."


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own The Hunger Games.**

"No. No way, no."

"You could at least listen to rest!"

"I'm not gonna do it! Not for Haymitch, not for you, not for the Queen of freaking England!" Johanna Mason yelled, glaring hard at the three of her old friends who stood before her.

"You always been a quitter, Mason?" Clove challenged, folding her arms across her chest and raising an eyebrow at Johanna.

"You always been a _loser_, Clove? We're not teenagers anymore, we can't drop everything to go gallivanting off through America in the name of some old man!" Johanna protested. Her right foot was resting on top of a soccer ball, and behind her a group of girls ran various different drills.

"That 'old man' taught you some of the most important life lessons you've ever learned." Finnick snapped defensively.

"Grow up, Finnick. We're not a group of kids looking for kicks anymore- we're young adults with jobs and money to earn. Haymitch isn't Yoda in the form of an old hippy either- he was shoved into an urn three weeks ago and been left on your bedside cabinet!" Johanna snapped back. She turned to Clove.

"And I'm ashamed of you, C. After all the hours we've both put in to get to where we are, you're willing to give it all up for next to nothing? I guess we know who the _real _hard-worker is now, Harvard girl." Johanna finished. Clove cast her eyes downwards, unwilling to look at her old best friend.

"You can't sacrifice a month? For Haymitch?" Annie asked, breaking her silence.

"Annie, I couldn't sacrifice a _week. This_ is the real world, not that place we used to go in our heads when things went wrong." Johanna's tone was softer when she spoke to Annie, who could do no wrong or harm a fly.

"What about Gale?" Finnick asked. He did not want to have to use that name, but he was desperate to get Johanna on the trip with them.

"What about him?" She answered flatly. It was still a touchy subject for her, not that she'd ever admit it.

"Finnick, don't." Clove warned, her face pale.

"The pact you and Clove made after the trip, to break up with your boyfriends and get studying…I think you owe him an apology. I think this trip could do that."

"See that girl over there?" Johanna pointed to a tall, thin girl with a long red pony tail. "When I'm on the starting sheet and she's my backup that's the only apology I'll ever have to make and trust me boy, it'll be a sarcastic one."

"Jo…"

"I've heard enough Finnick! What don't you understand about the words _I'm busy_? I'm World Cup material, but if I take any time out now nobody's gonna know that but me!"

"Haymitch knew that." Annie said softly. The three others looked at her, waiting for further explanation. "He's the one that encouraged us all to follow our dreams. He said, 'Johanna, you are a golden girl with golden boots. Fierce on the field, and just as fierce off of it. Never give up on your dreams because you're going places, and never give up on your friends because they want to go to those places with you. Glory lasts a lifetime, but friendship lasts for two.' Do you remember that?"

Johanna looked down at the floor. Wordlessly, she held her hands out palm up. Tattooed across her left wrist in black curly writing were the words 'Glory lasts a lifetime', and across her right wrist the words 'And Haymitch will too'.

"I remember." She said bitterly. "And you three aren't the only ones who miss him. Now I think you all should go."

…

Clove sunk down onto the couch in Finnick's apartment silently. No more than four words had been spoken between them the whole way back.

"Are you sure you'll be alright on the couch tonight, C?" Finnick asked, opening the fridge and pulling out a bottle of water.

"Yeah." She shrugged in response. They sat in silence, Clove on the couch and Finnick and Annie at the kitchen island for a few more minutes until the sound of Finnick's phone snapped them back into a state of reality.

"Are you gonna answer that?" Clove asked, turning around to raise an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah." He shrugged and answered his phone. "Finn."

"I know!" Marvel's voice was easily recognizable, even sounding tinny through Finnick's phone. "_I _called _you_!"

"Chill man, I'm sorry!" Finnick stood up and walked away from the island. "What do you mean?... No way. No _way_. Well get started, then!...Gross, no!...Twenty minutes, maybe?...Elugh. That's disgusting. See you soon."

He turned around, meeting two confused looks from the girls.

"We've been requested."

When they reached Haymitch's old house, Finnick almost ran over a group of arguing teens in the driveway.

"Finnick!" Glimmer yelled. "Please don't make me do it!"

"She has to! Everybody does!" Marvel protested.

"Hey man, I pulled the thing out of the corner and it was heavier than…" Cato trailed off from whatever he was about to say when he saw Clove getting out of the car.

"On second thoughts." He said, immediately looking away again. "See you in there."

"Everybody needs to calm down!" Finnick instructed. Surprisingly, they listened to him. "Guys, come on. We need to clean this thing out. I know none of you want to do it, but everyone _has _to do it. For Haymitch?"

"For Haymitch." Katniss nodded her head in agreement and went to join Cato in the RV. Grumbling under their breath, the others followed.

Finnick was expecting a mess, but when he stepped into the RV it was like stepping into a landfill site. Haymitch's old take-out cartons and beer cans lined the floor like a carpet. Old pieces of furniture, broken CD's and hug boxes of books lined the counters in the small kitchen and the couches in the main room. The sole bedroom was filled with old sweets and cakes that Haymitch had been hiding from Effie.

"Effie said it would be a mess, but…Ew." Peeta, who had been convinced to come by Katniss, shuddered.

"It's disgusting that we used to sleep in this thing." Gale added.

"Well what were you expecting? This was _Haymitch_." Finnick rolled his eyes. "Messy, disgusting, old Haymitch who loved and hated all at the same time. Open that box."

Cato opened the one he was pointing at. It was filled with old scrapbooks and photo albums.

"Look." Finnick took one out and opened it. He pulled out on picture, of them at the beach. Cato and Finnick were fighting playfully, Glimmer was sunbathing, Clove and Johanna were having a water fight and the others were helping to build a bonfire. "Remember when he used to do that? Take snap-shots of use that we wouldn't find out about until he needed to calm us down from an argument? Haymitch was a spiteful slob, but he was _our _spiteful slob."

"I agree." Clove said. "We need to clean this up with a smile on our face because Haymitch is up in heaven laughing his ass off at us cleaning all his shit up."

"Fuck you, Haymitch!" Marvel called, grinning, up at the ceiling of the RV. The others broke into smiles.

"Fuck you, Haymitch!" They all yelled, just as the rain came down.


End file.
